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The  Italian's' 
in  America 


Frederick  H.  Wright 


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The 

Italians  in  America 


By 

FREDERICK  H.  WRIGHT 

Superintendent 
Italian  Missions  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal 
Church 


COMMITTEE  ON  PUBLICATION  OF  THE  ITALIAN  MISSION 
OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
150  FIFTH  AVENUE,  NEW  YORK 

1912 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/italiansinamericOOwrig 


General  Outline 

PAQE 

I.  Italian  Democracy 

II.  Taxes  8 

III.  Italians  in  the  United  States  10 

IV.  Sobriety 10 

V.  Poverty 12 

VI.  Crime 13 

1.  Jealous  Guarding  of  Home  Life 13 

2.  Statistics  Not  a Fair  Index 14 

3.  Laxity  of  City  Officials 16 

4.  Inherited  Hatred  of  Governmental  Re- 

strictions   16 

VII.  Occupations 18 

VIII.  Italian  Renaissance 20 

IX.  Religious  Work 22 

X.  Social  Opportunity 24 


The  Italians  in  America 


The  Italian  has  an  intense  love  for 
the  land  of  his  birth.  He  thinks 
Italy  is  the  most  beautiful  country 
in  the  world,  and  there  are  many  who  agree 
with  him.  “Come  le  piace  I’ltalia?” — 
How  do  you  like  Italy? — is  one  of  the  first 
questions  asked  of  an  American  by  an  Ital- 
ian when  he  discovers  that  you  have  lived 
in  Italy.  The  American  asks  a similar  ques- 
tion of  a visitor  to  this  land.  “How  do  you 
like  our  institutions?”  The  Englishman  or 
German  rarely  asks  such  a question.  His 
national  pride  would  not  so  degrade  itself. 
He  thinks  his  country  is  all  right,  and  your 
estimate  of  it  is  a matter  of  positive  indif- 
ference to  him.  Perhaps  in  this  attitude  of 
the  Italian  may  be  found  the  secret  of  his 
unconscious  affiliation  with  American  ideas. 

I.  Italian  Democracy 

There  is  much  in  common  between  the 
Italian  and  the  American.  A rugged  democ- 
5 


racy  characterizes  this  dweller  in  his  sunny 
southland.  He  believes  in  the  divine  rights 
of  man,  and  a man-made  nobility  has  small 
value  in  his  eyes.  The  Englishman  loves  a 
lord,  but  the  Italian  idolizes  a man  of  noble 
character  whether  he  be  aristocrat  or  plebe- 
ian. Victor  Emanuel  II.,  Cavour,  Mazzini, 
Garibaldi,  are  names  to  conjure  with,  and 
while  the  two  first-named  were  aristocrats 
by  birth,  the  favorite  cognomen  of  the  King 
was  “Re  Gallantuomo,”  which  indicated  his 
bluff  democratic  spirit,  and  in  diplomacy 
Count  Cavour  was  the  plain  man  of  the  peo- 
ple. A title  of  nobility  was  offered  Gari- 
baldi by  a grateful  king  and  nation,  but  like 
the  great  commoner,  Gladstone,  he  chose  to 
preserve  his  identity,  and  his  name  is  hon- 
ored more  in  Italy  than  any  other  earthly 
name.  There  is  not  a city,  town,  or  hamlet 
in  that  fair  land  where  the  name  of  this 
great  man  is  not  perpetuated  in  some  way 
or  other.  He  is  the  Washington-Lincoln  of 
Italy. 

This  democratic  instinct  has  molded  the 
life  of  the  people,  strengthened  the  family 
tie,  and  developed  an  almost  patriarchal 
life.  I remember  a home  in  Sicily  which  I 
have  often  visited,  in  which  there  lived  to- 
gether in  perfect  harmony  a widowed 
mother  with  four  sons  and  their  wives,  two 
unmarried  daughters,  besides  the  smaller 
6 


children  of  the  family, — I think  there  were 
sixteen  in  all.  A large  round  dining-table 
accommodated  more  than  a dozen  at  one  sit- 
ting, and  the  affectionate  relations  were  de- 
lightful. The  dreadful  earthquake  at  Mes- 
sina swept  away  the  entire  family,  except 
one.  That  family  represented  a type  of  Ital- 
ian life  beautiful  to  behold.  Any  one  famil- 
iar with  the  life  of  the  Italian  in  America 
will  know  that  the  same  spirit  characterizes 
them  in  the  land  of  their  adoption.  Not 
only  the  immediate  relatives  are  cared  for, 
but  uncles,  aunts,  cousins,  nephews,  nieces, 
brothers  and  sisters-in-law,  fathers  and 
mothers-in-law  are  all  united  under  one 
roof.  This  means  a generous  hospitality, 
suggestive  of  our  own  southland.  It  also 
means  a strong  family  affection.  An  Italian 
father  may  punish  his  child,  even  severely, 
but  no  father  loves  his  children  more  than 
the  Italian. 

The  feudal  system,  although  abolished  by 
law,  is  still  practically  in  vogue.  Most  of 
the  land  is  the  property  of  large  land-hold- 
ers, and  absentee  landlordism,  as  in  Ireland, 
is  the  curse  of  Italy.  The  Italian  nobleman 
usually  farms  out  his  land  to  a “piccolo  pro- 
prietario”  for  a certain  sum,  and  then  lives 
in  Palermo,  Naples,  Rome,  Florence,  or 
some  other  city,  on  his  income.  The  lesser 
landlord  then  sublets  to  the  “contadino”  or 


7 


peasant,  and,  of  course,  expects  the  lion’s 
share  of  the  proceeds.  The  peonage  system, 
also,  is  in  practical  operation,  and  many  a 
poor  peasant  is  hopelessly  in  debt  to  his 
landlord. 


II.  Taxes 

Then  there  are  the  taxes,  and  it  is  gener- 
ally conceded  that  Italy  is  the  most  heavily 
taxed  nation  in  Europe.  A recent  writer  in 
a prominent  review  insists  that  the  national 
budget  is  unjust.  The  poorer  classes  of 
Italy  are  burdened  with  fifty  per  cent,  of  the 
national  tribute.  The  majority  of  luxuries 
escape  taxation,  while  the  essentials — corn, 
salt,  petroleum,  and  like  products — are  ex- 
orbitantly taxed.  The  “Lotto,”  or  national 
gambling  association — a heritage  from  papal 
rule — nets  about  twenty-seven  millions  of 
lire  ($5,400,000)  yearly  to  the  state,  deple- 
ting the  public  pocket  to  the  extent  of  nearly 
seventy  million  lire  ($14,000,000),  coming 
principally  from  the  small  wage-earner,  and 
the  laboring  classes.  The  duties  on  salt 
benefit  the  Treasury  from  fifty- four  to  fifty- 
nine  million  lire,  or  $10,800,000.  Two  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pounds  of  salt  which  costs 
the  state  about  thirt}'-two  cents  is  sold  to 
the  people  for  $8.00.  Petroleum  which  costs 
the  government  $3.50  is  sold  at  $13.00. 
g 


The  operative  forces  of  the  Italian  strug- 
gle for  national  independence  and  constitu- 
tional liberty  were  essentially  democratic,  as 
we  have  already  indicated,  and  the  national 
sentiments  and  institutions  are  nominally  so 
to-day.  Yet  we  find  not  only  successive 
governments  but  even  the  local  administra- 
tions of  communes  and  provinces  following 
in  practise  a course  diametrically  opposite. 
For  example,  in  the  South,  the  saddle-horse 
and  the  four-in-hand  of  the  rich  aristocrat 
pays  no  tax,  because,  forsooth,  such  luxur- 
ies cost  money  but  bring  in  no  income.  On 
the  other  hand,  the  donkey  of  the  contadino 
or  peasant,  which  carries  his  produce  to 
market  or  draws  his  antiquated  plow,  being 
considered  an  implement  of  labor  and  conse- 
quently a source  of  income,  must  pay  the 
tax.  This  is  obviously  unjust,  and  the  ef- 
fect upon  the  Italian  laboring  man,  espe- 
cially in  the  South,  has  been  to  cause  him  to 
seek  other  lands  for  a living. 

The  enormous  emigration  to  America  is 
the  direct  result  of  the  deplorable  economic 
conditions  of  Italy,  otherwise  very  few 
would  leave  their  fatherland.  “LTtalia  e’ 
bella  ma  povera,” — Italy  is  beautiful  but 
poor, — the  immigrant  declares  with  tears  in 
his  eyes,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  they  would 
stay  there  if  they  could ; indeed,  many  re- 
9 


turn,  after  a few  years’  sojourn  in  this  coun- 
try, to  spend  the  rest  of  their  days  in  “la 
heir  Italia.”  Rarely,  if  ever,  are  they  weaned 
from  their  old  love. 


III.  Italians  in  the  United  States 

It  is  a very  difficult  matter  to  compute 
the  number  of  Italians  who  come  to  the 
United  States.  There  is  an  incessant  com- 
ing and  going,  but  a recent  official  item  from 
Rome  estimates  that  fully  3,000,000  are  still 
in  the  United  States,  and  possibly  600,000 
are  in  Greater  New  York.  The  rest  are  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  New  England 
States,  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Maryland, 
Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  California, 
though  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a State  in 
the  Union  where  the  ubiquitous  Italian  can- 
not be  found.  Like  his  Irish  prototype  of 
years  ago,  whose  place  he  has  in  a large 
measure  taken,  he  is  everywhere.  As  mar- 
ket-gardener and  farmer  he  is  making  vast 
strides  in  the  central  States,  and  future  years 
will  see  greater  developments  than  ever  in 
this  direction. 


IV.  Sobriety 

The  moral,  social,  and  religious  condition 
of  the  Italians  in  this  country  is  an  interest- 


10 


ing  study.  In  this  brief  outline  there  is  not 
space  enough  to  enter  into  detail.  But,  in 
general,  we  may  unhesitatingly  declare  that 
the  social  life  is  exceptionally  good,  at  least, 
when  the  immigrant  arrives  in  this  country. 
His  sobriety  is  worthy  of  note.  The  Strass- 
burger  Post  has  recently  devoted  space  to  a 
comparative  statistical  study  of  the  amount 
of  liquor  consumed  by  the  inhabitants  of 
various  European  states.  The  Dane  leads 
the  continent,  his  average  being  104  quarts 
of  beer,  very  little  wine,  but  24  quarts  of 
brandy  each  year.  The  Italian,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  the  most  temperate:  he  drinks  the 
least  beer,  a mere  two  quarts,  and  the  least 
alcohol,  one  and  a quarter  quarts.  His  wine 
consumption  is  98  quarts.  No  nation  in 
the  U’orld  has  such  a record  for  temperate 
drinking.  Time  and  again,  during  our  six 
years’  residence  in  Italy  we  remarked  on  the 
decent  aspect  of  the  Italian  laboring  man  on 
holidays.  It  is  a delight  to  see  him  coming 
home  after  a day’s  outing,  with  his  wife  and 
family, — a jolly,  laughing,  good-natured, 
sober  crowd, — a striking  contrast  to  his 
American  compeer.  In  the  United  States, 
wine  is  expensive,  and  he  resorts  to  beer 
and  whisky.  It  is  sad  to  note  that  Italians 
are  developing  a taste  for  strong  drink.  He 
drinks  beer  because  he  sees  his  American 


11 


fellow  workingman  doing  the  same.  He  is 
very  impressionable,  and  becomes  a part  of 
all  he  meets.  He  comes  in  contact  with  the 
poorer  class  of  Americans,  and  patterns 
after  them.  Yet  withal,  his  record  for  so- 
briety is  noteworthy,  even  in  America. 


V.  Poverty 

The  Italian  is  industrious.  It  is  a very 
rare  thing  to  see  an  Italian  pauper  in  Amer- 
ica; they  are  too  busy  to  beg.  Those  who 
have  been  in  Italy  know  that  one  of  the 
blights  on  that  fair  land  is  the  trail  of  the 
professional  beggar.  He  is  a common  nui- 
sance, and  tries  sorely  the  patience  of  the 
tourist  by  his  persistency.  The  American 
sculptor.  Story,  tells  of  Beppo,  the  king  of 
the  beggars  in  Rome,  who  became  a very 
rich  man.  The  very  genius  of  the  Roman 
religion  encourages  begging.  Believing  in 
salvation  through  works,  and  that  he  who 
“giveth  to  the  poor  lendeth  to  the  Lord,” 
and  heaps  up  merit  to  himself,  the  Italian 
is  sharp  enough  to  see  that  there  is  a decided 
business  advantage  in  making  his  appeal  for 
charity  in  order  to  help  to  save  the  soul  of 
the  charitably  disposed ; hence  the  beggar  is 
much  in  evidence  to  assist  men  and  women 
to  protect  their  souls.  But  this  type  of  Ital- 
ian is  not  in  evidence  in  America,  thus  prov- 


12 


ing  that  this  undesirable  class  does  not  and 
cannot  emigrate.  Jacob  Riis  is  authority 
for  the  declaration  that  among  the  street 
beggars  of  New  York  City,  the  Irish  leads 
with  15  per  cent.,  the  native  Americans  fol- 
low with  12,  the  Germans  with  8,  while  the 
Italian  shows  but  2 per  cent.  We  are  told 
further  that  “in  the  almshouses  of  New 
York  the  Italian  occupies  the  enviable  posi- 
tion of  having  the  smallest  representation, 
Ireland  having  1,617  persons  and  Italy  but 
19,  while  the  figures  for  the  entire  United 
States  are  equally  favorable.”  When  it  is 
remembered  that  the  Italian  population  of 
the  metropolis  is  more  than  double  that  of 
the  Irish,  the  figures  are  striking.  Perhaps 
I ought  to  say  that  this  comparison  is  made 
not  for  the  purpose  of  reflecting  on  the 
Irishman,  who  has  made  his  record,  but  for 
the  purpose  of  placing  the  Italian  in  the 
right  light. 


VI.  Crime 

1.  Jealous  Guarding  of  Home  Life.  The 
home  life  of  the  Italian  is  jealously  guard- 
ed, and  no  nation  has  a higher  record 
of  social  virtue.  Their  chief  crimes  are  the 
result  of  jealousy, — a fear  that  their  home 
life  has  been  invaded.  After  all,  it  is  a proof 
of  the  intense  love  which  dominates  their 
lives,  for  jealousy,  at  the  last  analysis,  is  in- 
13 


tensified  love,  or  love  gone  mad.  Their 
criminal  record  is  not  so  bad  as  it  appears. 
The  newspapers  seem  to  take  particular  de- 
light in  exploiting  their  deeds,  yet  Dr.  S.  J. 
Barrows,  the  expert  criminologist  states : 
“There  are  vile  men  in  every  nationality, 
and  it  does  not  appear  by  any  substantial 
evidence  that  the  Italian  race  is  peculiarly 
burdened,  though  it  has  been  unwarrantably 
reproached  through  ignorance.”  In  August, 
1911,  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  with  a total 
population  of  77,000,  there  were  350  of  all 
nationalities  who  had  been  sentenced  to  the 
workhouse,  and  yet  with  an  Italian  colony 
of  6,000,  only  12  were  inmates  of  that  insti- 
tution, whereas  their  proportionate  number 
on  the  basis  of  their  population  would  be  27. 
This  is  no  exception  to  the  rule.  The  Black 
Hand  gang  and  the  blackmail  scares  have 
created  a prejudice  in  the  minds  of  Ameri- 
cans who  have  not  studied  the  actual  rela- 
tion of  things. 

2 . Statistics  Not  a Fair  Index.  Professor 
E.  A.  Steiner,  known  as  the  immigrant’s 
friend,  makes  the  significant  statement 
which  follows,  based  upon  his  wide  ex- 
perience : “I  have  visited  nearly  all  the 

penitentiaries  in  the  eastern  and  western 
States ; not  to  ask  how  many  foreigners  there 
are  in  jail,  but  to  ask  why  and  how  they 
were  convicted,  what  their  present  behavior 
14 


is;  to  look  the  men  and  women  squarely  in 
the  face  and  to  converse  with  them.  Let  me 
say  here  again,  emphatically,  that  the  statis- 
tics are  misleading,  and  that  in  spite  of  the 
large  number  of  Italians  in  prison,  there  are 
by  far  fezver  criminals  among  them  than 
the  statistics  indicate.  In  a large  number  of 
cases,  the  crimes  for  which  the  Italian  suf- 
fers, have  grown  out  of  local  usage  in  his 
old  home.  None  the  less  are  they  justly 
punished  here,  lest  they  be  permitted  to  per- 
petuate themselves  in  the  new  home.  Most 
of  the  Italians  in  prison  have  used  the 
stiletto  and  the  pistol  too  freely,  just  as  they 
used  them  at  home  when  jealousy  made 
them  mad,  or  when  they  were  in  pursuit  of 
vengeance  for  real  or  fancied  wrongs. 
There  are  not  a few  real  criminals  who  have 
used  the  weapon  for  gain,  but  in  the  major- 
ity of  cases  the  stabbing  or  shooting  was 
an  affair  of  honor  with  those  concerned,  and 
even  the  aggrieved  parties  preferred  to  suf- 
fer in  silence  and  die,  bequeathing  their 
grudge  to  the  next  generation,  rather  than 
bring  the  affair  before  a sordid  court.  Tes- 
timony in  such  cases  is  very  hard  to  get, 
and  I have  seen  many  a wounded  Italian 
bite  his  lips,  inwardly  groaning,  and  suffer- 
ing in  silence,  unwilling  to  let  strange  ears 
hear  the  proud  secret  of  which  he  was  the 
15 


keeper  and  the  victim.  Italian  burglars 
have  not  reached  proficiency  enough  to  have 
a place  in  the  ‘Hall  of  Infamy,’  and  bank 
robbers  and  ‘hold-up’  men  need  not  yet  fear 
serious  competition  from  that  source.  The 
prisons  contain  many  Italians  who  trans- 
gressed out  of  ignorance  as  well  as  from 
passion ; numbers  suffer  because  they  do  not 
know  the  language  of  the  court,  and  did  not 
have  enough  ‘coin  of  the  realm’.” 

3.  Laxity  of  City  Officials.  An  unfor- 
tunate reason  for  the  apparent  prevalence 
of  crime  is  too  often  found  in  the  laxity 
of  the  city  officials.  So  long  as  the 
Italian  kills  his  own  kind,  the  American 
representatives  of  justice  take  little  time  and 
trouble  to  sift  out  the  crimes,  and  accord- 
ingly many  go  off  scot  free,  and  crime  is 
thus  encouraged.  Not  so  when  he  kills  an 
American : then  he  is  hunted  to  the  death 
and  glaring  headlines  tell  of  the  awful  crime. 

4.  Inherited  Hatred  of  Governmental  Re- 
striction. The  Italian  has  an  inherited  hatred 
of  all  governmental  restriction.  For  genera- 
tions he  has  been  the  slave  of  the  conquering 
nations  which  in  turn  dominated  his  fair  pen- 
insula, and  he  has  ever  been  a rebel.  This 
explains  his  attitude  to  all  authority,  and 
accounts  somewhat  for  his  criminal  record. 
Lillian  Betts,  herself  a Roman  Catholic, 
blames  the  ignorance  and  bigotry  of  the  im- 

16 


migrant  priests  who  have  set  themselves 
against  American  influence,  and  knowing,  as 
she  does,  these  Italians  both  sympathetically 
and  critically,  her  words  have  considerable 
weight.  She  says:  “In  New  York,  the 
streets  the  Italians  live  in  are  the  most  neg- 
lected, the  able  head  of  this  department 
claiming  that  cleanliness  is  impossible  where 
the  Italian  lives.  The  truth  is  that  prepar- 
ation for  cleanliness  in  our  foreign  colonies 
is  wholly  inadequate.  The  police  despise 
the  Italian  except  for  his  voting  power.  He 
feels  the  contempt,  but  with  the  wisdom  of 
his  race  he  keeps  his  crimes  foreign,  and 
defies  this  department  more  successfully 
than  the  public  generally  knows.  He  is  a 
peaceable  citizen  in  spite  of  the  peculiar  race 
crimes  which  startle  the  public.  The  crim- 
inals are  as  one  to  a thousand  of  these  peo- 
ple. On  Sundays  watch  these  colonies.  The 
streets  are  literally  crowded  from  house- 
line to  house-line,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  see, 
but  not  a policeman  in  sight,  nor  occasion 
for  one.  Laughter,  song,  discussion,  ex- 
change of  epithet,  but  no  disturbance.  They 
mind  their  own  business  as  no  other  nation, 
and  carry  it  to  the  point  of  crime  when  they 
protect  their  own  criminal.  Like  every  other 
human  being  in  God’s  beautiful  world,  they 
17 


have  the  vices  of  their  virtues.  It  is  for  us 
to  learn  the  last  to  prevent  the  first.” 


VII.  Occupations 

The  Italian  in  this  country  belongs  to  the 
laboring  class,  and  chiefly  to  unskilled  labor. 
Nevertheless,  he  is  moving  up,  and  in  New 
York  alone,  there  are  fifteen  hundred  or 
more  lawyers,  five  hundred  physicians,  be- 
sides a growing  number  of  merchants,  bank- 
ers, and  business  men.  The  young  Italian^ 
are  flocking  to  our  higher  schools  of  learn- 
ing, and  are  making  an  enviable  record.  Last 
spring  (1911)  a new  system  was  established 
in  Columbia  University,  of  graduation  with 
honor.  The  first  and  only  man  to  graduate 
under  the  new  rule  was  an  Italian.  He 
stood  an  oral  examination  before  the  profes- 
sors of  the  various  departments,  in  which  he 
took  honors.  Yet  with  all  these  good  indi- 
cations, there  is  no  use  disguising  the  fact 
that  the  crowded  condition  of  our  little 
Italics  is  a menace  to  our  nation.  Sociolo- 
gists have  done  a great  deal  to  ameliorate 
the  awful  conditions  which  obtain,  but  much 
more  will  have  to  be  done  to  avert  a dire 
calamity.  Socialism  of  a revolutionary  type 
— suggestive  of  violence,  and  something 
more  than  a suggestion — is  rampant  among 
the  Italians.  It  is  an  inheritance  from  the 


18 


homeland.  The  spirit  of  discontent,  nur- 
tured by  the  unfortunate  economic  condi- 
tions there,  has  a freer  scope  in  this  land  of 
liberty,  and  unless  some  high  moral  and  re- 
ligious restraint  is  brought  to  bear  upon  it, 
the  results  may  be  disastrous  both  for  the 
Italians  and  for  this  country. 

A great  many  have  the  impression  that 
the  Italians  who  come  to  this  country  are 
chiefly  of  the  riffraff  element,  but  this  is 
very  far  from  the  truth.  They  are  the 
brawn  and  muscle  and  undeveloped  brain 
of  Italy.  The  proof  of  the  first  is  seen  in 
the  mass  of  unskilled  labor  which  lays  our 
suburban  tracks,  digs  our  ditches,  tunnels 
our  subways,  and  builds  our  railroads.  What 
would  we  do  without  them?  The  proof  of 
the  second  is  seen  in  the  wonderful  progress 
they  make  in  our  public  schools.  The  in- 
variable testimony  of  teachers  is  to  the  alert- 
ness of  mind  of  children  of  the  first  gener- 
ation. I remember  visiting  an  Italian  Sun- 
day-school in  New  York  City  a short  time 
ago.  The  Secretary-,  a young  lady,  was  born 
in  Southern  Italy.  I thought  she  was  an 
American,  she  had  so  absorbed  her  environ- 
ment. In  conversation  with  her  I found  that 
she  was  studying  typewriting  and  stenog- 
raphy, that  she  had  made  good  progress,  and 
I have  since  learned  that  she  occupies  a very 
responsible  position  in  the  city.  She  was 
19 


the  daughter  of  a New  York  City  street- 
sweeper  and  her  parents  could  neither  read 
nor  write.  America  had  produced  that 
change  in  a life  by  the  larger  opportunity, 
and  all  in  the  first  generation.  In  a certain 
city  of  the  East,  settlement  work  was  taken 
up  by  a Christian  church.  Italian  boys  of 
the  immigrant  class  frequented  the  settle- 
ment. One  of  the  boys  is  now  judge  of  a 
juvenile  court,  another  is  an  instructor  of 
Italian  and  Latin  in  one  of  the  well-known 
universities,  another  is  a successful  physi- 
cian, while  still  another  is  a lawyer  of  prom- 
inence and  a graduate  of  Harvard.  In  com- 
mercial life  they  are  forging  their  way  to 
the  front,  and  in  the  professions  they  have 
already  won  their  place,  thus  demonstrating 
their  virile  qualities.  The  story  of  the  de- 
cadence of  the  Italian  people  is  the  story  of 
the  rise  of  the  papacy,  and  with  it  the  sup- 
pression of  free  thought. 


VIII.  Italian  Renaissance 

In  the  eleventh  century  Sicily  was  the  cen- 
ter of  culture  and  refinement,  then  came  the 
fall  of  Constantinople  and  the  subsequent 
development  of  the  so-called  Holy  Roman 
Empire  with  its  domineering  hierarchy.  All 
tendencies  to  mental  and  religious  liberty 


20 


were  checked  with  an  iron  hand,  and  though 
there  were  many  who  resisted  even  to  death 
the  encroachments  of  a tyrannical  ecclesi- 
asticism,  little  by  little  the  papal  Church 
throttled  free  speech  and  free  thinking,  and 
developed  in  its  own  territory  a nation  of 
ignoramuses,  until  in  1870,  when  the  record 
of  illiteracy  was  fully  eighty-five  per  cent. 
The  Italian  Renaissance  saved  Europe,  but 
Italy  itself  was  cursed  by  the  dominance  of  a 
medieval  priestcraft  and  remained  in  abject 
poverty  and  despair.  Symonds  has  well 
said : “The  history  of  the  Italian  Renais- 
sance is  not  the  history  of  arts,  or  of 
sciences,  or  of  literature,  or  even  of  nations. 
It  is  the  history  of  the  attainment  of  self- 
conscious  freedom  by  the  human  spirit  man- 
ifested in  the  European  races.”  The  three 
R’s  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  Renaissance, 
— the  new  birth,  the  era  of  Medicean  influ- 
ence and  Florentine  elegance;  Reformation, 
— the  struggle  of  Luther  and  Zwingli 
against  scholasticism  and  papal  supremacy; 
Revolution, — the  culmination  of  the  irresist- 
ible forces  of  Renaissance  and  Reformation 
in  the  European  life  and  thought.  Italian 
Renaissance,  Lutheran  Reformation,  and 
French  Revolution,  form  the  trinity  of  influ- 
ences begun  through  a domineering  yet  de- 
cadent ecclesiasticism. 


21 


The  Italian  of  the  twentieth  century — the 
immigrant  to  the  new  world — is  the  product 
of  an  effete  hierarchy.  A child  of  the  coun- 
try which  saved  Europe  and  then  the  world, 
he  himself  remained  a victim  of  a world- 
bound  papacy,  and  as  he  touches  our  Amer- 
ican environment  so  many  are  ready  to  de- 
clare him  a degenerate  son  of  a degenerate 
people,  but  the  thoughtful  observer  will  look 
into  the  philosophy  of  history  and  draw  a 
conclusion  juster  and  truer,  namely : that  the 
modern  Italian  is  the  undeveloped  product 
of  a degenerate  Church.  Breaking  away 
from  the  traditions  of  the  past,  this  same 
Italian  breathes  the  free  air  of  a Protes- 
tant environment  in  the  new  world,  and  rises 
to  his  old-time  power  and  influence. 

IX.  Religious  Work 

Something  must  be  done  to  meet  the  im- 
mediate needs  of  the  Italian  immigrant. 
American  Protestants  for  a long  time  did 
nothing,  believing  that  every  Italian  was  a 
Roman  Catholic,  but  after  careful  investi- 
gation it  was  found  that  a vast  number  had 
no  affiliation  with  the  mother  Church  except 
by  tradition  and  baptism,  and  that  if  nothing 
was  done  for  them  by  Protestantism,  they 
would  come  under  no  religious  influence 
whatsoever. 


22 


The  socialistic  element  of  Southern  Italy 
is  decidedly  anticlerical.  It  knew  nothing 
but  the  Roman  type  of  Christianity,  and  the 
revolt  from  that  was  spontaneous  and  posi- 
tive; hence  it  became  antichristian.  It  was 
the  swinging  of  the  pendulum.  Contact  with 
American  life  has  brought  larger  views  on 
religious  thought,  and  these  erstwhile  anti- 
christian Italians  cannot  resist  the  force  of 
Protestant  ideas.  Protestantism  has  made 
its  greatest  inroads  in  the  socialist  camp,  and 
thousands  are  now  rejoicing  in  the  light  of 
the  gospel  of  Christ,  who,  without  such  in- 
fluences, would  have  been  completely  sep- 
arated from  the  Christian  Church. 

We  have  no  quarrel  with  the  Roman 
Church:  we  are  simply  trying  to  reach  the 
vast  majority  of  Italians  who  for  one  reason 
or  another  have  lost  faith  in  her.  This  is 
not  the  place  to  discuss  the  reasons  for  this 
lack  of  faith : the  fact  is  undeniable.  Apart 
from  the  socialistic  element,  which  is  ag- 
gressively antichristian,  the  greater  number 
of  Italians  in  this  country  are  absolutely  in- 
different regarding  Christian  faith  and  life. 
The  almost  tragic  relation  of  the  state  to 
the  Church  is  lamentable.  The  fiftieth  an- 
niversary of  the  unity  of  Italy  was  cele- 
brated in  1911  with  great  pomp  in  Rome 
and  Turin,  but  not  a prayer  was  publicly 
23 


offered  up  for  the  blessing  of  the  God  of 
nations.  This  total  disregard  of  Christian 
teaching  augurs  ill  for  a people  who  in  their 
natural  tendencies  are  religious.  The  emo- 
tional dominates  their  lives,  and  yet  the  cold, 
bare  facts  reveal  a complete  absence  of  in- 
terest in  everything  which  is  Christian. 

The  Italians  in  America,  under  the  pres- 
ent environment,  are  fast  becoming  an  un- 
godly people,  and  this  is  our  danger  and 
theirs.  The  various  denominations  are  active 
in  establishing  churches  in  their  midst,  and 
the  response  they  have  received  indicates 
that  these  happy-hearted  children  of  Italy 
are  not  impervious  to  the  teachings  of 
Christ. 


X.  Social  Opportunity 

Evening  classes  in  English  and  instruc- 
tion in  United  States  Government,  together 
with  the  presentation  of  the  New  Testament 
type  of  Christianity,  can  be  made  splendid 
channels  of  propaganda  among  the  Italian 
immigrants.  Naturally,  they  are  suspicious 
of  unselfish  effort  in  their  religious  behalf; 
they  have  been  so  used  to  ulterior  motives 
that  they  stand  on  guard,  but  as  they  begin 
to  see  the  disinterested  spirit  which  prompts 
evangelical  Christians  to  point  them  to  the 
Lamb  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the 
24 


world,  their  hearts  become  responsive  to  the 
truth,  and  their  simple,  childlike,  yet  withal, 
strong  and  stalwart  natures,  assert  them- 
selves and  prove  the  power  of  their  intellect 
and  the  warmth  of  their  hearts. 

Americans  must  break  away  from  the 
silly  prejudices  of  the  past  and  that  unrea- 
soning ignorance  which  destroys  Christian 
bonds  and  creates  a, chasm  between  races. 
By  a mutual  sympathy  and  Christlike 
spirit,  we,  as  Protestant  Christians  can  do 
mighty  things  for  these  lovable  people, 
whose  forbears,  long  years  ago,  gave  our 
fathers  the  gospel,  and  who  now  themselves 
need  the  same  old  gospel  of  mercy,  compas- 
sion, and  love. 

Italy  has  played  her  part  well  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world.  Notwithstanding  all  the 
suppression  of  free  thought,  she  has  pro- 
duced some  of  the  greatest  representatives 
in  literature,  science,  art,  and  religion. 
Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Tasso  sing  as  sweetly 
as  any  poets.  She  has  produced  a Mondino, 
the  father  of  modern  anatomy,  a Falloppio 
who  preceded  Harvey.  Galileo  studied  the 
heavens  and  turned  astrology  into  astron- 
omy. The  barometer,  the  timepiece,  the 
improvement  of  the  mariners’  compass  are 
the  gifts  of  Italian  genius.  Galvani  gave  us 
the  first  principles  of  electrical  science,  fol- 
25 


lowed  by  Volta  and  Meucci  with  the 
telegraph  and  telephone,  while  Marconi 
crowned  the  whole  with  his  wireless  mes- 
sages. Michel  Angelo,  Raphael,  Andrea  del 
Sarto,  Perugino,  Carlo  Dolce,  Giulio  Ro- 
mano, Da  Vinci,  Titian,  and  Fra  Angelico 
peopled  the  galleries  of  the  world  with 
matchless  art.  Bellini,  Verdi,  and  Donazetti 
discoursed  to  us  sweet  music,  while  Paga- 
nini and  his  associates  reproduced  in  instru- 
ment and  song  the  masters  of  Italian  sym- 
phony. Her  roll  of  statesmen  and  generals 
is  no  mean  record.  From  Julius  Caesar 
down  to  Garibaldi  and  Napoleon  Bonaparte 
she  has  shown  masterful  generalship,  and 
from  Lorenzo  to  Cavour  she  has  produced 
men  of  state  and  giant  nation-builders.  In 
the  religious  world  she  has  developed  her 
resourceful  and  intrepid  missionaries  who 
went  forward  and  won  our  Anglo-Saxon 
fathers  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  even  Ire- 
land pays  its  tribute  to  Italian  evangelism  in 
the  person  of  her  patron  saint  Patrick,  him- 
self the  son  of  Italian  parents,  who  was 
Christian  without  being  Romanist  and  Cath- 
olic without  being  Protestant,  and  who  in 
his  “Confessions”  insists  on  justification  by 
faith  only. 

This  is  the  story  of  Italy.  What  a debt 
we  owe  her ! As  her  sons  and  daughters  of 
26 


yeoman  blood,  illiterate  yet  virile,  undevel- 
oped yet  brainy,  crowd  upon  our  shores,  let 
us  give  them  our  heartiest  greetings  and  an 
unstinted  welcome,  and  by  the  grace  of  God 
they  will  do  for  our  America  what  they  have 
done  for  their  glorious  Italy. 


27 


.A*- 


